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Day 2: ESTER: [Old Testament Heroines every Woman Should Know]

As we continue in our biblical heroine series, here is another amazing women who inspired me to stand up and speak… Her name is Ester.

Ester was a beautiful young Jewish woman who risked her life to serve God and to save her people. She lived in captivity under the reign of the Persian empire. After her parents died, Mordecai, Ester’s uncle, adopts her.

The King, Ahasuerus, of the Persian Empire, threw a lavish party. Imagine amazing food, epic music, and high class peeps. The king gets himself drunk and calls for the queen, Vashti, wanting to show off her beauty to the guests. But the queen refused. (Yeah, good for Her. He’s a jerk!).

But the King wasn’t happy. Filled with anger, he seized the queen’s crown and removed her from the throne.

WANT TO BE ROYAL?

To find his new queen, the king hosted a royal beauty pageant and Esther was chosen for the throne. She was beautiful. But the secret to this plot was that no one knew she was a Hebrew, and her uncle, Mordecai, ordered her not to tell.

Now this is were it gets tricky. The king’s second man in command was named Haman. He was a bad dude. He was wicked and hated the Jews, especially Mordecai, who had refused to bow down to him.

AN EVIL PLOT UNFOLDS

So, Haman made an elaborate plot, tricks the king, and convinces him to kill all the Jews in Persia. When Mordecai learned of the plan, he shared it with Esther. (Pause) Can you imagine how fearful Ester would have been knowing she was a Jew? But Mordecal (her uncle) challenging her with these famous words:

“.. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14)

Jesus remind us when much is given much is expected (Lk 12:47-48 ). Ester was being called to rise.

THE CALL TO COURAGE

Responding to her uncle’s challenge, Esther urged all of the Jews to fast and pray.…

Then risking her own life, brave young Esther approached the king with a plan of her own. At a banquet, she revealed her Jewish heritage to the king, (BOOM) as well as Haman’s evil plan (BOOM-BOOM), and saved her people (BOOM-BOOM-BOOM).

THE POWER OF WORDS

Ladies, sometime the power to speak truth can save us from hardship.

When I was in college, I was dating a guy who was not treating me well. He pressured me sexually, made inappropriate jokes around his friends, and well let’s just say that he was not leading me to Christ. Many of my friends just kept silent. But one sister-in-Christ was brave enough to speak:

“Why are you dating this guy!” Her words shocked me.

I had just been complaining about my boyfriend and my friend Angela needed to speak truth. I listened to her concern. And I knew she was right. He was not good for me. We chatted about the relationship and my insecurity that fueled me to stay in it. Soon after I broke up with him and I have never looked back.

Thank God for my Esther friend!

Ladies, we have incredible power to transform lives by speaking the truth, like Ester. So if you are biting your tongue, fearing what others will think, look to Ester’s example of courage to speak into the darkness.